FORTE Question

[rcjunkie]

New poster, a question for the audiophile here. I have a set of 1988 FORTE speakers that I purchased new. These are connected to a vintage 1988 Yamaha RX-100U receiver (purchased at the same time), These speakers came alive for the first time 4 years ago after we moved to our new home. They are in the bonus room over the garage (20 by 20 room), I mainly listen to classical, with a mix of country and some blues. I would not discribe the sound as bass heavy, but real "airy" and clear. Love the sound in this new room. Now after reading some of the comments here about how strong the FORTE bass is, I am wondering if I am missing something. Is the receiver right for these speakers? Do the caps need to be replaced? New crossovers needed? Any FORTE owners out there have any comments.

Thanks

Dennis

[RichardP]

Bass output of any speaker is highly dependent on room acoustics, room dimensions, and placement of the speakers. Perhaps the most influential variable in your case, however, is the amount of bass in the recordings. Your classical, country, and blues choices may simply not have a huge amount of low frequency material, at least not compared to some type of thumpety-thump hip-hop material, or low frequency special sound effects in movie sound tracks. Lots of new popular music has considerably higher bass levels than similar music released 10 or 15 years ago or before. Regarding your other questions, it is my understanding that new capacitors or crossover work would mainly affect higher frequency characteristics. I am using '89 Fortes which I am completely happy with. As far as the receiver, it will make little difference, unless yours is not functioning correctly. On this forum, there are many who are obsessed with reaching audio nirvana, and will try anything to make even the slightest improvement in their system's sound. In my view, once you have a decent system, the main determinants of sound quality are in the recording, the acoustic space, and the listener's brain.

[dtel]

How are they placed in the room ? I would not say a Forte is bass heavy, just a good amount of bass for that speaker not boomy bass at all to me anyway.

Try different positions, and play something that has good bass and move them around a little to find out where they sound best, start a foot or two from the wall.

Others will probably give you some more ideas, and the crossovers are starting to get a little old and may be off from original, but try to find a good position for them first.

[rcjunkie]

Thanks for the comments, the speakers a placed along the long wall facing in. My seating ia about 6 feet away. I love the way these sound. Just wondering!!

Dennis

[Southern]

I own a pair of early build Forte's and drive them with a late 70's vintage receiver. I have my speakers

angled inward slightly and about 1 foot from the rear wall. I have re-capped my Fortes and noticed a

deffinate improvement with the midrange. Before the midrange driver appeared to be a bit harsh, with

the crossover re-cap it blends in with the highs and lows perfectly. I also agree with dtel that the Forte

is not bass heavy but if the music source calls for some bass with punch the Forte delivers it with

authority. I also have never experienced boomy bass with my Fortes. I did notice that I get deeper bass

when I drive them with my Pioneer receiver (270wpc) compaired to my Dynaco tube amp (35wpc).

Sit back and enjoy your Fortes.

[oldtimer]

Sounds like you are hearing room differences. If you feel bass is lacking try changing the position from the back wall, too close will choke off bass.

[WMcD]

I agree with the above about room and placement. This is based on my Forte II and Quartets.

I have the Forte II in a somewhat small office and in the corners. Bass is remarkably strong. I don't run any loudness bass boost even at low volumes. I think that in a larger room and not in a corner, they'd sound as you describe.

My Quartets are in a large room in an urban apartment, away from the corners and on 16 inch stands. I do have the loudness bass boost "in" and listen at low levels. This seems perfect to me. Most listening is TV and movies and there are very good bass events and clear treble and midrange.

These events, IMHO, are the little extras that careful sound engineers put in at the edges of the spectrum, or at low levels in the mid, and other speakers just can't get right.

I find no fault with old, low power receivers from the orient. I've not ventured into the re-cap issue; I don't find any problem with what I'm hearing.

Gil

[rcjunkie]

Thanks for all of the help, I really like the sound of my system. Some of the comments here got me thinking about what I may be missing. On my receiver I leave the tone controls flat, the mid range is so clear, and bass sounds very natural. I guess I will just enjoy.

I have not heard Forte 2's, how do they compare?

Dennis

[WMcD]

I have not heard Forte and Forte II side by side. My recall is that one person here on the forum reported they are similar.

Here is a link to the Forte review.

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/p/62031/606908.aspx#606908

OTOH, here is a link to the article by Klipsch engineers about the tractrix horn.

http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/44621.aspx?PageIndex=1

I'll just point out that Klipsch liked the tractix so much that they upgraded the Forte and I suspect that was with the blessing of PWK. Of course the Forte II got a bigger passive radiator in the upgrade. And then then the Forte II was followed by the Chorus II and Quartet.

As far as what you're missing . . . I'd say, probably not too much. I someone came to me and asked what to buy, I say the Forte II. But if you have a Forte and you're happy, I wouldn't suggest selling them off and buying a Forte II. The caveat is that I do believe the tractrix is uncanny, good.

BTW, I know that loudness switches and bass boost are somewhat controversial. I think they have their uses when used with some judgment. There is a lot to say that if you have to keep overall volume low (for any number of reasons) bass boost helps maintain a balanced sound.

Gil

[jerohm]

My opinion only of course, but Forte IIs are LESS FORGIVING on some recordings, but sound better, on great recorded material and quality electronics. I ran both at the same time for a while, and they seemed to compliment each other favorably - or at least, certainly did not distract from each other. A Quartet lifted to the same height as a Forte, sounded remarkably similar to a Forte II under MOST circumstances.

[dtel]

I have both and the ll is a little better, a hair more bass and a little better mid range, IMO

If you have the original Forte, I wouldn't switch, If you did, move up the chain, not just to the Forte ll.

[rcjunkie]

Thanks for all of the comments. I spent last evening listening to Beethoven's 2nd and 6th. I love the depth these speaker produce!

Dennis

[Duke Spinner]

check your Phasing ..

The Forte isnt Bass Heavy, Just .. Bass Correct

[rcjunkie]

Thanks, learning that what I thought bad settings is bad recordings...... I had compared the Forte to the Bose 601 that my wife had when we married. The recording that sound bad on the Forte sound "better!?" on the Bose, the Forte did not always have the bass of the Bose speakers. The Bose do not have the mid range at all.

Learning....